Tennessee: Tennessee State Senate, District 17

Candidates

Mae Beavers, Republican
Sherry Fisher, Democrat

Issues: Tax Reform | Nursing Home Quality | Home and Community Based Services |

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Question

What would you propose to ensure that our state’s revenue system provides stable and adequate funding for needed government services such as education and health care? Please describe your views on the need for tax reform and your specific position on ways to make our tax structure more fair and responsive to the growing demand for high quality services.

AARP Response

AARP Tennessee believes that our state is facing a severe and deepening revenue crisis. The current tax system does not provide adequate funds to pay for basic, essential services, and relies heavily on the sales tax. The current system is regressive, with lower and middle-income families paying far more as a percentage of their incomes than higher income families. AARP supports tax reform legislation that provides adequate and stable revenue for basic services; keeps up with our state’s growing economy; and addresses the inequities now realized by many lower and middle-income families. We support tax reform that eliminates the sales tax on food, clothing and non-prescription drugs, lowers the overall sales tax rate, repeals the Hall tax on dividend and interest income, and replaces these with a broad-based, graduated-rate income tax. Such a plan would lower the tax burden on the vast majority of Tennessee families and retirees.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports lower sales taxes and replacement with broad-based income tax
Supports specific plan to meet demands for needed services

Candidate Response: Mae Beavers

I support lowering the sales tax that was raised last year. I also support reform of the TennCare system to get almost 20,000 out of state and out of country people off TennCare. The latest TennCare audit showed over five hundred million dollars in fraud and abuse in the system. Until we fix TennCare, we risk losing it for those that really need it.

I have called for an independent audit of state finances, contracts, etc. as the first order of business in the next General Assembly. I think there is much waste, fraud and abuse in state government and that needs to be addressed before we put additional taxes on the citizens of the state of Tennessee.

Candidate Response: Sherry Fisher

Professionally, I teach businesses to solve problems, balance budgets, and instill plans of action that ensure long-term accountability and success. It is this skill that I wish to take into our General Assembly. Almost everyday on the campaign trail, I hear stories of government waste. That is why I do not support an income tax and I do not support an increase in the sales tax. I believe that with better, efficient management of our state funds, we can adequately provide for the needs of the people of Tennessee, whether those needs be the needs of a businessman or a resident of a nursing home.

Question

What specific steps would you take to ensure that nursing homes provide quality care? Please state your position on enacting reforms to improve the quality of nursing home care, including strengthening staffing standards for those who provide direct care to residents; strengthening regulatory oversight and enforcement of quality standards; reforming the Medicaid payment system, improving ombudsman services; and establishing resident and community councils to provide feedback on quality issues.

AARP Response

Nearly 40,000 Tennesseans are receiving care in 360 nursing homes across the state. A great majority of nursing home residents are Medicaid recipients, with the state providing nearly $900 million annually for their care. AARP Tennessee supports reform legislation which improves the quality of care provided to nursing home residents. Legislation should include reforms in the Medicaid reimbursement system to provide incentives to deliver high quality care; increasing minimum nurse staffing requirements; strengthening the ombudsman program; barring providers with criminal records or whose facilities have been cited repeatedly for deficiencies in major quality-of-care requirements; improving the facility inspection program; employing a full range of sanctions for quality-of-care deficiencies, including civil money penalties, a ban on all new admissions, monitors, directed plans of correction, denial of Medicaid payment for new admissions and appointment of temporary managers and receivers, and imposing remedies swiftly, with harsher sanctions for recurring, serious or widespread deficiencies.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports increased staffing requirements
Supports improved facility inspections and stronger sanctions
Supports reforms in the Medicaid payment system

Candidate Response: Mae Beavers

I have always supported strict guidelines for nursing homes, having dealt with many different complaints through my office over the last eight years. I support improved facility inspections and reforms in the Medicaid payment system.

Candidate Response: Sherry Fisher

It is important that we make sure that our nursing homes provide quality care to all of their residents. To do this, nursing homes must be equipped with enough quality staff persons who are trained to provide the best care possible and who are safe to work in a position of trust. We must provide better facility inspections to make our nursing homes measure up to high community standards. If a nursing home fails an inspection, sanctions must be strong enough to make the nursing home correct the situation immediately. We also must reform Medicaid and TennCare to ensure those programs are focused and available to those who need them. We should and must care for our Aging population as we would care for ourselves.

Question

What specific steps would you take to ensure that consumers in need of long term care have access to a full range of services outside of nursing homes? Please state your position on increasing funding for non-institutional long term care services through redirecting resources from nursing home services to home and community based services, or providing another realistic source of necessary funding.

AARP Response

Tennesseans needing long-term care should have the choice to stay at home rather than a nursing home as the only option. Home-and-community-based services are needed by persons of all ages with physical or mental impairments. These services include personal care, nursing and home health care, adult day care, case management, social services, habitation and rehabilitation and assistive technologies. Home-and-community-based services may be needed on a regular or respite basis over a period of several months, years, or a lifetime. People prefer to receive long term care services in their own home or in a community setting. AARP Tennessee supports increased funding for home-and- community-based services under a Medicaid waiver program and for services to persons who do not meet Medicaid eligibility requirements. We also support expanding available services to ensure a full continuum of long-term care services, that enhance choice, independence, dignity and individual well-being.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports expansion of services and funding
Supports redirecting resources from nursing homes or specific funding source

Candidate Response: Mae Beavers

I have been on record for the past few years supporting long term care. I believe that with better management of our state government, it would free up money to be used for these services.

Candidate Response: Sherry Fisher

I believe that those who need long-term care should have the option of whether they would prefer nursing home care or home healthcare. To create this option, we must make sure that the necessary medical services are available at the homes of those who need them. While our nursing homes should be fully funded, we must not neglect providing adequate funding for those who choose to have their care administered in the comfort of their own home.